August 20, 2061 Californian tornado outbreak
The August 20, 2061 Californian tornado outbreak was an historic tornadic outbreak, in which a record 27 tornadoes hit the US state of California in association with the remains of Tropical Depression 14E. Also, the only 2 known occurances of a violent tornado occurring in the state occurred, with an EF4 tornado in Santa Paulaand Malibu and an EF5 tornado, which hit Cougar Hills and Monte Nido during the evening hours of the event. 17 people are listed as losing their lives durin gthe outbreak, with a record $840 million in damages occurring. Synopsis On the morning of August 18th, a tropical disturbance formed over the Baja California Peninsula, with the potential to become a tropical cyclone, and was upgraded into Tropical Depression 14E on the following morning. The low then moved ashore near San Diego, in the extreme south of California state on the 20th, undergoing extratropical cyclogenesis, becoming an extremely destructive serial derecho by 6am, with a drop of pressure from 1001hpa at landfall to 990hpa within 4 hours. Upon moving further inland that morning, the system collided with a dry line in the Rockies, allowing supercells with embedded tornadoes to develop. The first tornado touched down at 2pm local time , and was rated EF1 by the local NWS offices. By 7pm, 20 tornadoes had touched down, but the worst was yet still to come. At 7:15, an EF4 tornado touched down, destroying several buildings before dissipating at about 8pm. The worst tornado of the outbreak, an EF5, touched down at 8:30pm, and smashed through the Catabasa and Cougar Hills areas, sweeping away numerous homes in the areas hit The final tornado of the outbreak, an EF0, touched down at 9:18pm, in the middle of Los Angeles, causing minor roof and tree damages in the city, before dissipating 5 minutes later. List of tornadoes Significant tornadoes Malibu - Monte Nido tornado of 2061 The first of the 4 most significant tornadoes was an EF3 in Malibu, and touched down at 2:20pm PST. As the tornado strengthened, it gained in size, and the first damages were cars being pushed off roads, and windows were smashed nearby to the touchdown location, warranting an EF1 rating there. By 2:29pm, the tornado had grown into a strong EF3 rain-wrapped tornado, causing heavy damage and flash flooding to properties along the storms path. By the time the tornado lifted at 2:38pm PST in Monte Nido, it had caused $8 million in damages, and killed 2 people. An additional 12 others were left injured by the storm. Ventura - El Rio tornado of 2061 About 5pm PST, another strong EF3 tornado touched down in Ventura, snapping numerous trees and windows, ranking EF1 damage. The tornado reached EF3 strength on the edge of El Rio, heavily damaging 87 houses, of which 3 were completely destroyed, hinting at possible EF4 damage at that location. 4 more people were killed by this tornado, and $12 million in damages was inflicted on the areas hit by the storm. The tornado lifted at 5:27pm, local time. Saticoy - Eillmore tornado of 2061 A violent tornado touched down in Saticoy at 7:15pm PST, and extensively scoured the ground along its path. 135 homes were demolished, with 3 being swept away by the twister. At first, the tornado was rated as an EF5, but once the houses were deemed poorly constructed, the EF4 rating was set for the storm due to the new discoveries. $10 million in damages were inflicted, but remarkably, no fatalities occurred. 3 storm chasers were on track for an intercept of the tornado in Santa Paula, but were thrown 12 metres away from where their 4x4 was hooked into the ground. Remarkably, no one was injured during the event. Thousand Oaks - Santa Monica tornado of 2061 The strongest, most violent tornado to ever hit the California state on record touched down in Thousand Oaks at 8:30pm PST, causing EF0 damage to the local area, snapping tree limbs. By the tome the tornado reached Agoura Hills, it had reached EF4 strength, and was scouring the ground, destroying houses that it hit. At 8:49pm, the tornado reached EF5 strength, the highest rating possible, and smashed into Calabasas, sweeping away homes along the storms path, and killing 3 in the town before moving on, approaching Topanga before weakening finally in the area to EF3 strength. The tornado hit Santa Monica as an EF1 tornado at 9:04pm, smashing windows in the buildings ,before weakening and dissipating at 9:09pm, local time. Along its path, 8 people were killed, and damages totaled to $750 million in damages. Preparations A tropical storm watch was issued upon the designation of Tropical Depression 14E on the 19th for California. This was cancelled on the morning of the 20th, and replaced with a PDS severe thunderstorm warnings, and a tornado watch for the area, of which were all upgraded to warnings by noon. Additional watches were issued for the surrounding states. Upon the approach of violent tornadoes, the areas of Santa Paula, Eillmore, Agoura Hills and Calabasas were placed under tornado emergencies, and people were urged to immediately seek appropriate shelter form the various approaching tornadoes. Impact California was put under a state of emergency once the tornadic activity had subsided.. The request for federal assistance was granted by the US president, with $304 million being given out to the victims of the tornadoes by the closing date of October 15, 2061. The emergence of new building laws began with all new homes or buildings being repaired from the outbreak to withstand winds in excess of 300 mph, with a storm shelter on site. The areas that were totally destroyed were never rebuilt, and the areas that were damaged beyond reair were demolished and entirely rebuilt under the new building laws. All of this was done in fear of another outbreak occurring in the future, and to ensure the levels of devastation that occurred during the outbreak didn't happen again. Records The outbreak was the worst in the history of California, with 47 reports being given into the NWS, of which a record (for the state) were confirmed. The only 2 occurrences of violent tornadoes to occur in the state of California were also documented, with an EF4 and an EF5 being confirmed. The EF5 tornado also claimed records of its own, being: * The only EF5 Californian tornado on record * The costliest Californian tornado on record, with total damages placed and confirmed at $750 million Category:Outbreaks